Effect of Varying Burn Sizes and Ambient Temperature on the Hypermetabolic Rate in Thermally Injured Rats

BACKGROUND: Small animals with scald covering 50% of their total body surface area (TBSA) have been used to study the hypermetabolic burn response. In the 50% TBSA burn rat model, the area of normal skin that is available for animal instrumentation is restricted and the mortality rate has been high. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a smaller burn size can induce a similar hypermetabolic response with mortality rates lower than …